Hi Tech & Innovation news

Electronics & Semiconductors

Opening the door to more efficient orbitronic devices

Electrons have three intrinsic properties: spin, charge and orbital angular momentum. Researchers have long studied how to use spin to more efficiently create an electrical current. But the field of orbitronics—which is based ...

Computer Sciences

Helping resolve quantum computers' memory problem

A major problem with quantum computers is memory, as the information they contain can be quickly lost. Quantum computers are not yet fully reliable—they are far too unstable. However, all around the world, people are trying ...

Engineering

UV glow test measures air disinfection performance in minutes

The effectiveness of air disinfection devices may now be measured in minutes, rather than hours, with a new technique from University of Michigan Engineering. This is important for researchers developing better antiviral ...

Energy & Green Tech

Photothermal fabric panels could cut heating energy up to 23%

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have unveiled a tool to combat climate change, fossil-fuel dependency, skyrocketing home-heating bills, and gentrification all at once—a simple fabric treated with a ...

Hardware

New memory chip survives temperatures hotter than lava

The electronics inside your phone, your car, and every satellite currently orbiting Earth share one critical weakness: heat. Push them past about 200 degrees Celsius and they start to fail. For decades, that thermal ceiling ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Vibrations in your skull may be your next password

A team led by Rutgers University researchers has developed a security system that could change how people log in to virtual and augmented reality platforms by eliminating passwords, personal identification numbers and eye ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Photonic chip packaging can withstand extreme environments

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new way to package photonic integrated circuits—tiny chips that convey information using light instead of electricity—so they can survive ...

Engineering

AI-based model measures atomic defects in materials

In biology, defects are generally bad. But in materials science, defects can be intentionally tuned to give materials useful new properties. Today, atomic-scale defects are carefully introduced during the manufacturing process ...

Engineering

Smart yarn tracks muscle activity in the body

Created from noise-resistant, conductive threads, a high-tech new smart fabric could find uses in health monitoring, sports performance and rehabilitation. The work is published in the journal Science Advances.

Engineering

Strengthening wood with needle and thread

Wood laminates are used in many different ways, for example, in the manufacture of skis and snowboards or in components for vehicle interiors. However, their weight advantages for lightweight construction also have disadvantages. ...

Engineering

Wearable device helps blind people detect obstacles

Researchers from the São Paulo State University (UNESP) and the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES) in Brazil have developed a wearable device to help visually impaired people move around. The technology has tactile ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

'The Matrix is everywhere': cinema bets on immersion

In a Los Angeles theater, a trench coat-wearing Neo bends backwards to dodge bullets that spiral over the viewer's head, as the sound of gunfire erupts from everywhere.

Hi Tech & Innovation

3D printing metal molds poised to accelerate US auto manufacturing

Recent advancements at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory show that 3D-printed metal molds offer a faster, more cost-effective and flexible approach to producing large composite components for mass-produced ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Five things to do in virtual reality—and five to avoid

Open-heart surgery is a hard thing to practice in the real world, and airplane pilots cannot learn from their mistakes midair. These are some scenarios where virtual reality solves really hard problems, but the technology ...

Hi Tech & Innovation

Secure encryption and decryption with luminescent perovskites

To guarantee high data security, encryption must be unbreakable while the data remains rapidly and easily readable. A novel strategy for optical encryption/decryption of information has now been introduced in the journal ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Cool computing—why the future of electronics could lie in the cold

Modern computer chips generate a lot of heat—and consume large amounts of energy as a result. A promising approach to reducing this energy demand could lie in the cold, as highlighted by a new Perspective article by an international ...